No transfers of officers this year: Forest minister

The transfer of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers had been pending for past three months. The civil services commission, headed by chief secretary S Ramaswamy, discussed the matter twice, but the transfer list remained pending first with the forest minister and later with chief minister TS Rawat.

Forest minister Harak Singh Rawat listens to public grievances at the Janta Darshan at the BJP office in Dehradun on Tuesday.(Vinay Santosh Kumar/HT)

Forest officers won’t be transferred this year, state forest minister Harak Singh Rawat said Tuesday. Some vacant posts of territorial officers, however, would be filled in the coming days.

The transfer of Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers had been pending for past three months. The civil services commission, headed by chief secretary S Ramaswamy, discussed the matter twice, but the transfer list remained pending first with the forest minister and later with chief minister TS Rawat.

Now, the government is in no mood to transfer the officers as two quarters of the financial year is already over.

“It’s late for transfers and I don’t think we would be releasing any list now,” the forest minister told HT, adding that the vacant positions of divisional forest officers (DFO) at Mussoorie, Bageshwar and others would be filled soon.

According to the Civil Services Rules, the transfers shall be done by June 30. But state government extended the date till July 20. Some transfers of irrigation and school education department were cancelled too.

Sources claim that some forest officers had tried to influence their postings seeking support of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) veterans , national leaders and yoga guru Ramdev. The minister had earlier told HT that he was being pressured for transfers .

The forest minister, meanwhile, held a Janta Darshan at the BJP headquarters in Dehradun on Tuesday.

On low budgetary allocation to the forest department, he said there are several victims of conflict and their family members who haven’t received compensation. “From ₹350 crore in 2006 our budget has been reduced to ₹70 crore, because of which many compensation cases are pending,” he added.

Talking about ₹500 crore required for Kandi Road that aims to connect Garhwal and Kumaon, he said the funds are sourced through Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board , Uttarakhand Forest Corporation and other agencies. He also mentioned how the department is trying to promote ecotourism through various efforts.